The three chatted for a bit, though truth be told, they were still practically strangers.
Even Li Hao and Kongji weren't truly familiar with each other; they hadn't met in person very many times.
Yet right now, their conversation was remarkably harmonious.
The Sword Venerable grew quite fond of the two young lads!
This time, he didn't call them little fools. These two were eager to learn, enthusiastic about helping him dig holes and do hard labor, and equally keen to go looting with him... Well, even when he did the looting himself, the two hadn't even brought up splitting the spoils.
If it had been certain other people... hah, skulls would have been cracked long ago!
Thinking back to the old days, after which battle hadn't they divided the loot immediately? If you didn't split it right then, would anyone have stayed to listen to you chatter for half a day?
Good people!
There really were plenty of good people in the chaos.
Folks coming out of Silver Moon truly were generous and open-minded, just like himself.
Look at them—they had killed a seventh-rank Sovereign, yet neither of them had mentioned dividing the spoils yet. If it had been a certain fellow surnamed Qin, leaving the loot undivided until now would have prompted him to tear down the heavens.
Since they didn't bring it up, an elder like him would be embarrassed not to mention it.
Seeing that the cavern had been carved out and the base was practically ready, the Sword Venerable spoke up: "Earlier, we killed that Sovereign Xingshen or whatever... He was a seventh-rank Sovereign after all. Though he wasn't the master of a great world and had no great world or Great Dao Universe for us to carve up, the Dao charm and Great Dao energy of a seventh-rank Sovereign are supreme treasures!"
Killing this kind of seventh rank was far less lucrative than killing the master of a great world. Those were the truly wealthy ones!
Still, it was quite extraordinary.
Besides, a seventh-rank Sovereign carried some wealth on his person. A Sovereign's wealth was generally not kept in a storage ring, but stored within their Dao charms and Dao traces—just like the red moon earlier, which held that seventh rank's Dao traces and Dao source.
If nothing else, he certainly possessed Great Dao crystals.
It was just that the three hadn't checked carefully earlier, sweeping up everything before fleeing. To know the exact wealth, they had to inspect it.
When it came to dividing the treasures...
Kongji was actually not very interested, even if the prey had been a seventh rank.
Li Hao, on the other hand, was quite interested, but he didn't say much. The Sword Venerable before him was the former king of Silver Moon and a top powerhouse of Xinwu. In slaying a seventh rank this time, the primary force had been this elder. Even if the Sword Venerable couldn't have killed the foe this time, he could have escaped easily. Slaying the opponent had ultimately been possible thanks to his presence. No matter how much external power Li Hao borrowed, he and Kongji were currently still incapable of killing a seventh rank.
Adding in various other factors, Li Hao refrained from saying much.
This was his first true contact with a Xinwu powerhouse. He wanted to observe, assess, and weigh things carefully.
Just because Silver Moon originated from Xinwu didn't mean he could blindly place a hundred percent trust in Xinwu.
As for the reputation of Xinwu folks outside... well, the less said, the better.
The Sword Venerable glanced at the two and smiled, seeing that neither spoke up.
Kongji was easy to understand—a genuine scion of wealth, and such rich second-generation youths never lacked money.
As for Li Hao, Xinwu itself was dirt poor, and Silver Moon, which branched out from Xinwu, could only be even poorer. Silver Moon was hardly an abundantly endowed great world. Having overseen Silver Moon for many years, the Sword Venerable knew its situation intimately.
For Li Hao to reach the fourth rank was already a miracle.
Under normal circumstances, in an impoverished backwater like Silver Moon, barely stepping into the chaos at the second or third rank would already have been remarkable.
"Let me see the haul!"
For Sovereigns, the spoils invariably consisted of those few things.
The Sword Venerable probed for a moment, and a red-moon-like object appeared in his palm, the remnants of the foe's Dao charm traces.
"Seventh-rank Dao charm crystals... mm, quite a lot. After killing a seventh-rank Sovereign, their Dao charm condenses upon death. You two should understand this, right?"
Kongji nodded, and Li Hao nodded as well.
Dao charm crystals were different from Great Dao crystals.
One contained insights into the Great Dao—like the dark Dao charm crystals Li Hao had acquired quite a few of back at Dark Demon Ridge—whereas Great Dao crystals were formed of pure energy.
One carried insights, while the other did not; the difference in value was immense.
The higher the rank of the Dao charm crystal, the greater its value.
Dao charm crystals born from the slaying of a seventh-rank Sovereign were exceptionally precious. For many Sovereigns who rarely had the opportunity to listen to supreme powerhouses expound on the Dao, Dao charm crystals were their only means of obtaining deeper insights.
"Over a thousand Dao charm crystals... not bad!"
The Sword Venerable calculated quickly and said, "Dao charm crystals fetch a steep price. In trades across certain worlds, a single seventh-rank Dao charm crystal can be exchanged for at least several hundred thousand Great Dao crystals! Ten million Great Dao crystals can buy a small world..."
In other words, the Dao charm crystals alone could be traded for dozens of small worlds.
That was actually quite normal.
What was a small world worth? At most, its Sovereign possessed third-rank power, whereas Dao charm crystals could only be produced by high-rank Sovereigns. Trading the kill of a seventh-rank Sovereign for dozens of small worlds was far worse than killing dozens of third-rank Sovereigns... In truth, most world masters of small worlds were only at the first or second rank, with third ranks being rare.
Killing a high-rank Sovereign just to trade for small worlds was something only an idiot would do.
Those capable of doing so wouldn't care about small worlds, while those who cared couldn't pull it off.
"Great Dao crystals, mm... quite a few. He originally carried a lot, and upon death, his Great Dao power condensed into Great Dao crystals. I haven't counted the exact amount, but there are a few hundred million at least."
Finishing his words, the Sword Venerable chuckled.
A fortune!
Killing a seventh rank truly was worth it.
A seventh-rank Sovereign!
It was his first time killing one, too.
Although such meager spoils might seem like a terrible loss to many—killing a seventh rank just for this?—that was an enemy. Even if there had been no spoils at all, he still had to be killed.
"Besides that, there's quite a lot of miscellaneous junk. I took a look, and hey... there's a small world inside his Dao traces... a compressed small world."
He spotted an entire small world contained directly within the opponent's Dao traces.
A small world was virtually useless to a high-rank Sovereign; it was most likely kept around to bestow as a reward.
Small worlds were only of some use to low-rank Sovereigns.
Listening to this, Li Hao felt the haul was extraordinarily rich, whereas Kongji felt little emotion. Having reached the sixth rank, he had never lacked resources; what he lacked was comprehension and understanding of the Great Dao.
Talking about this with a wealthy scion was like talking to a brick wall.
If nothing else, his single Source of Light was worth more than a small world. Not to mention a small world, trading that item could fetch an entire medium world, which was worth ten times as much.
To many fifth- and sixth-rank Sovereigns, wasn't instantly recovering their Great Dao power far better than having a medium world?
The Sword Venerable inspected everything once more and said, "These are the only things of value. The rest is just odds and ends, worthless and of no real use to us! High-rank Sovereigns don't usually carry junk like that around.
"For the Dao charm crystals, let's value them at three hundred thousand Great Dao crystals each! One thousand crystals makes three hundred million Great Dao crystals. The fellow also left behind around two hundred million upon death. Count the small world as ten million Great Dao crystals, and ignore the rest—that comes to five hundred and ten million crystals.
"In killing that fellow, the three of us contributed equally... so let's split it evenly!
"One hundred and seventy million crystals each. That's enough to buy nearly two medium worlds. Not bad!"
He laughed. In truth, it still wasn't strictly worth it.
He could easily obliterate two medium worlds on his own without facing much danger.
Yet he wasn't a slaughtering demon who destroyed medium worlds on a whim.
From this, one could see why Red Moon's open bounty offering a medium world in exchange for capturing the Silver Moon World had tempted countless cultivators.
Kongji was about to speak when Li Hao interjected, "Brother Kongji, accept it. Treat it as compensation for your expenses this time! Teleporting here cost you a great deal, plus that Source of Light of yours was exceedingly valuable. The Sword Venerable means well; don't refuse Senior's goodwill!"
Kongji considered it, then nodded without further protest.
True enough.
His expenditure this time had indeed been heavy; teleporting here had consumed countless Great Dao crystals.
However, he didn't care much for Great Dao crystals. After a moment's thought, he said, "Could you give me a few more Dao charm crystals? I'm quite interested in the Dao of Red Moon. Stirring up the primal desires deep within people's hearts to stimulate our Great Dao origin... I previously underestimated Red Moon. I always thought cultivators of the Red Moon World could do nothing but put on seductive airs, but this time I realized that this ability is actually quite terrifying."
The Sword Venerable nodded. "Sure, no problem!"
He chuckled. "I'm not that interested in Red Moon's Dao. Besides, Red Moon is our enemy; there will be plenty of chances to kill their experts! Li Hao, what about you? What do you want?"
"The small world, Great Dao crystals, and some Dao charm crystals."
The Sword Venerable raised a brow slightly. What a lad—not picky at all, refusing nothing.
In truth, he had also wanted the small world.
A small world wasn't much, but for a cultivator like him, he could contemplate its structural framework and study a different Great Dao system along the way. Other cultivators took them to devour, but he didn't.
Li Hao, likewise, didn't want it for devouring either; his thought matched the Sword Venerable's.
Beyond that, after finishing his study, he could avoid wasting it by letting the Silver Moon World devour it. Although the Silver Moon World was currently within the Great Dao Universe, Black Panther, representing Heaven's Will, was still outside.
Black Panther could devour it.
The Sword Venerable thought it over. This was their first collaboration; forget it, let it be.
If he acted stingy on their very first run, these two might look down on him, and what if they refused to team up in the future?
"Very well. Then you get the small world, forty million Great Dao crystals, and four hundred Dao charm crystals. How does that sound?"
Li Hao nodded, a smile breaking across his face.
Indeed, murder and arson yielded a golden belt!
What were Great Dao crystals?
A first-rank Sovereign could only condense a little over three hundred crystals in a year. The harvest from this single haul alone was enough to equal hundreds of thousands of years of condensation for such a cultivator.
Hundreds of thousands of years—what an immense span of time!
The Sword Venerable looked toward Kongji and smiled. "I'll give you five hundred Dao charm crystals and twenty million Great Dao crystals, and the rest goes to me. Any objections?"
Kongji nodded indifferently.
Sounds good!
The Sword Venerable was cheerful as well. Since that was settled, there was no problem.
Very good!
Dao charm crystals from a seventh-rank Sovereign—and a Red Moon Sovereign at that—were of little use to him. Keeping a hundred to gain a bit of insight was enough; there was no need for deep research.
On the other hand, Great Dao crystals were useful to him, whether for cultivation, feeding back into Xinwu's origin universe, or elevating the intensity of Great Dao power in the Xinwu native world.
Since Li Hao had claimed the small world, he didn't bother to argue.
The spoils were divided smoothly and easily.
The Sword Venerable added, "Killing a seventh rank of this kind from a great world—one who isn't the world master—really doesn't yield that much! Truly slaying the master of a great world, that's where the real fortune lies: the world itself, the Great Dao Universe, all sorts of Great Dao crystals, and Dao charm crystals... That is truly striking it rich!"
A Great Dao Universe was something money could never buy.
People traded medium worlds, but no one had ever heard of anyone trading a great world.
Soon, Li Hao received his share.
Sensing the bountiful harvest piled high within his long river, Li Hao was thoroughly satisfied.
With so many Great Dao crystals, he had enough for his cultivation needs. At the very least, he wouldn't constantly have to worry about what to do if his energy ran short during his upcoming cultivation.
As for the Dao charm crystals, gaining some insights from them would also be beneficial.
Every seventh-rank Sovereign possessed merits worth learning from.
Even if he didn't need them himself, he thought of Qian Wuliang. That fellow cultivated the illusory Dao, which shared certain commonalities with Red Moon's Dao of Desire. Pondering over these crystals might grant him some gains.
The people of Silver Moon still needed to grow strong on their own!
Just look at Xinwu.
Was the Human King powerful? Extremely powerful!
Yet without the Supreme, without the Sword Venerable, without the Sun God, without the Cang Emperor...
Without these Xinwu powerhouses supporting him, the Human King might have been besieged and killed long ago.
Why hadn't that happened? Because the existence of these figures could save his life at crucial moments, providing the Human King with ample backing. The Human King struck on one front, while the Supreme and the others struck on another—that was their true confidence!
Whereas Silver Moon...
Li Hao sighed softly in his heart. The people of Silver Moon were too young.
Xinwu was young too, but it had at least developed for over a thousand years.
Moreover, Xinwu had been a great world from the start. Silver Moon hadn't even qualified as a small world initially; birthing multiple Sovereigns was already an extraordinary feat. But right now, Li Hao had only just entered the middle ranks, and whether the others could step into the middle ranks remained a question.
At present, the two Dao Lords of the Silver Moon World possessed tremendous potential to unearth.
Another was Black Panther.
As Heaven's Will, functioning essentially as the world master of the Silver Moon World, the growth of the world and Black Panther's own growth complemented each other.
These three all had the opportunity to quickly leap past several thresholds.
Yet for the others... it would be extraordinarily difficult.
The Silver Moon people stranded in Tianfang, including Lin Hongyu who was rooted in his long river, faced immense difficulty advancing. There were also some Xinwu folks—such as Li Fuhai and the others—who had previously drifted to the Tianfang World along with Sky Sword and his cohort.
Only Zhang An had accompanied Lin Hongyu and the others, avoiding being stranded on that side.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Li Hao lost in thought, the Sword Venerable asked with a smile.
Li Hao looked up at the Sword Venerable and said softly, "Nothing much. I just feel that my Silver Moon is too impoverished and weak. Who knows when it will ever produce a powerful cultivator like you, Uncle Li."
Silver Moon!
The Sword Venerable nodded slightly, pondering for a moment before saying, "Silver Moon still has potential. Of course, Silver Moon itself isn't a great world, but it birthed its own Great Dao Universe—that is its opportunity and foundation!
"Besides, the people of Silver Moon all possess a certain talent for Dao cultivation."
He sighed with feeling. "Silver Moon is a world innately capable of giving birth to Dao techniques..."
Li Hao glanced at him. The Sword Venerable gave a meaningful look. "Do you understand?"
Li Hao thought about it and nodded. "A little. It's just that... back then, that person was supposedly only at the sixth rank. I just find it curious: was he truly so invincible, so peerlessly talented?"
The Sword Venerable felt a pang of emotion and sighed. "I don't know. He and I weren't from the same era. I only saw him once... just a single meeting! That was many years later, when he was already dead. In fact, it wasn't even his true self, merely some lingering remnants. He came to Xinwu, took a look around, and then departed, dissipating into the wind!
"Fang Ping... that is, the Human King, owes much of where he is today to him, and the opening of Yin-Yang was also deeply connected to him!"
The Sword Venerable sighed and shook his head. "A pity... he died! Or perhaps it isn't a pity. In his eyes, perhaps the thoughts of people like us were the ones that were childish! What's the use of living so long? Vulgar people, no matter how long they live, are merely surviving!"
Vulgar?
A top cultivator who defied the odds to slay a seventh rank—the Sword Venerable actually called himself vulgar!
Kongji froze for a moment and glanced at the two of them. Who on earth were they talking about?
Whether Li Hao or the Sword Venerable, in his eyes, they were among the most brilliantly talented people he had ever met. Such people were exceedingly rare!
In their eyes, could there truly be someone even more exceptional?
Li Hao nodded. "Perhaps just as you said, Uncle Li, in his eyes, we are all very vulgar!"
The Sword Venerable chuckled. "Vulgar is fine; just live as yourself! To say something slightly irreverent, I feel that in his later days, he might have been too lonely, thinking too much. With no friends, no family, and no attachments left, he chose to drift away with the wind. Unlike us common mortals who still have worldly ties, a man like him stood too high and looked too far. It was lonely at the summit—a realm of seeking defeat in solitude. If he hadn't died, it would have been far too desolate!"
"Who was that?"
Kongji finally couldn't hold back. For someone to receive such praise from the Sword Venerable was no small matter.
Dead?
Someone from the Xinwu World?
He knew a bit about the Xinwu World. Its greatest villain, the Heavenly Emperor, had only been at the peak of the sixth rank, not necessarily stronger than the current Sword Venerable, or at most his equal.
"A person from the past."
The Sword Venerable smiled and patted Kongji on the shoulder. "There's no need to know these things. Young man, you must understand: the more you know, the more disappointed you become in yourself. Why dig to the bottom of everything?"
"..."
Kongji felt an odd sensation.
He looked at the Sword Venerable patting him repeatedly, feeling an indescribable helplessness and strangeness.
He was the Bright Godson. Wherever he went, he stood high above others. Even after running away from home to Huilong Temple, as a middle-rank Sovereign, he had retained his lofty status.
After meeting Li Hao, he had gained a friend, but they interacted as peers.
Li Hao was even slightly weaker than him, and throughout their interactions, Li Hao had maintained a degree of respect.
Yet this man... was only a few hundred years older than him at most. Between Sovereigns, could a gap of two or three hundred years even be called a gap?
Not at all!
Treating each other as equals was already courteous enough.
Yet... this man truly seemed to treat him like a junior! They were both sixth ranks!
Their ages weren't vastly different.
Yet... before this man, Kongji genuinely felt as though he had met an elder. He felt somewhat helpless. His father was a million years old, and which Sovereign in the Bright God World wasn't older than him?
None of them had ever given him this feeling.
Perhaps it was the Sword Venerable's casual attitude... Who kept patting someone on the shoulder when they barely knew each other? It was truly exasperating.
The Sword Venerable, however, didn't feel anything was amiss.
This fellow was Li Hao's friend. And Li Hao... if he was a descendant of the Li family, was a descendant of his lineage separated by who knew how many generations—he couldn't even be bothered to count. Having him call him Senior or Uncle was already generous; if they actually tallied the generations, Li Hao wasn't even his grandson's grandson's grandson...
Well, he didn't have a biological grandson anyway.
Since he was Li Hao's friend, that made him his junior as well.
After casually chatting about these matters, the Sword Venerable began plotting again: "Let's get down to business. My goal is very clear: open my world, establish my Dao, and merge my Dao. I won't necessarily split open the heavens or carve out a world, but even if I do, it will be the Dao merging with me, and me merging with the Dao! Therefore, I need a vast quantity of Great Dao crystals, insights into the Great Dao Universe, its structure... and enough energy reserves accumulated to meet my advancement requirements!
"Furthermore, Red Moon is the enemy of my Xinwu. In the near future, I am bound to slaughter a batch of Red Moon's allies... When it comes to resources, I won't put on airs of nobility and say I don't want them. I definitely want them, and everything must be accounted for clearly!"
Kongji was just about to speak when the Sword Venerable cut him off: "Your wealth is your business. Setting aside whether you want it or not, I already said I'd give you twenty percent. I just want to ask you: what goal do you want to achieve?"
Kongji froze, then replied, "Reach the seventh rank!"
"That's too vague!"
The Sword Venerable shook his head. "Break down your goal. Your goal is too hollow! You could say you want insights into desolation... For instance, if we destroy a world, your goal could be to bring that world to complete desolation. We would then coordinate with you to fulfill that goal, rather than slaughtering aimlessly for the sake of killing...
"Even if the difficulty increases and it becomes more complicated than pure slaughter, we can prioritize meeting your requirements."
Kongji's heart stirred.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that something was different—truly different. Earlier, he had only thought about blending in with them to try a novel experience and play at being a bandit...
Yet while the Sword Venerable called himself a bandit, he perhaps wasn't one after all.
Or rather, he gave off... a vibe similar to a teacher?
This man... rumors outside claimed he was the teacher of the Human King. Could it be that he had taught the Human King in the same manner?
Kongji felt a hint of circumspection. He didn't know why such a feeling arose; even before seventh ranks, he could remain composed and natural. Contemplating for a moment, he said, "As Senior says, I do have such an aspiration. I don't like senseless killing, nor do I wish to kill haphazardly... My meaning is, if the opportunity arises, I want to bring an entire world into desolation... and then attempt to revive it!
"Of course, accidents might happen, and the world might remain thoroughly desolate, unable to revive successfully... That would count as slaughter. Of course, if it comes to that, I'm no saint either. It's just that the difficulty will be greater than simply annihilating a world!"
The Sword Venerable grinned. "Works for me!"
It works?
Kongji didn't say a word. Making such a demand deep within enemy territory was actually quite inappropriate.
Killing people was simple.
Yet bringing about desolation... the slightest misstep could easily cause massive complications. To kill, a single sword strike sufficed; but inducing desolation might not succeed.
The Sword Venerable didn't care about that at all and looked at Li Hao.
Li Hao spoke up: "I want resources—that's the first thing. Second, I want to comprehend the Great Dao structures of various factions, which only great worlds possess. Third, desolation and revival—I am also contemplating them. What Kongji seeks is also what I seek! In addition, I need to kill people to comprehend life and death..."
The Sword Venerable pondered for a moment and nodded. "That works too! Any other requirements?"
Li Hao shook his head.
The Sword Venerable smiled. "Looks like your demands aren't too high. Not bad! That gives the three of us a sense of proportion and a broad, shared goal. That will suffice!
"Next, we still have work to do!"
The Sword Venerable continued, "Digging one hole isn't enough! A crafty hare has three burrows; we still need to be cautious. We need to dig a few hundred holes all along the perimeter of the Red Moon World! We'll link together the entire vicinity of the Red Moon World so that even if their seventh ranks come charging at us, we can slip away without a trace, leaving them unable to catch us!
"This is no small undertaking; it's hard for me to do alone. Starting today, the two of you will learn the art of hole-digging with me!"
The two exchanged a glance and nodded.
He merely phrased it crudely.
In reality, it was the technique of constructing world foundations and gaining Dao comprehension—under normal circumstances, you wouldn't be able to learn it even if you wanted to.
As for doing hard labor... countless Sovereigns couldn't even dream of the chance, and wishing for it was useless, as the Sword Venerable wouldn't teach just anyone.
"Besides digging holes, there are several other tasks to handle."
The Sword Venerable instructed them one by one: "Gather intelligence to know ourselves and know the enemy, primarily concerning several great worlds. Kongji, you hail from the Bright God World; you must have some basic dossiers, right?"
Kongji nodded.
"Very well. Provide them to Li Hao and me; I need that intelligence!"
With that, he turned to Li Hao. "That power of yours to stack and reverse time—is that Time?"
Li Hao nodded.
"Time..."
The Sword Venerable considered it, then shook his head. "Don't use it anytime soon! Not just Time—life and death, desolation and revival as well... Do not fuse them together in use. The moment you use them, lightning tribulations descend!
"And the descent of lightning tribulations actually signifies one thing: your fusion is insufficient, unable to achieve unitary perfection!"
The Sword Venerable explained, "Back then, Fang Ping's fusion of Yin and Yang was imperfect. Whenever he used the fused Dao of Yin-Yang, it was prone to provoking chaotic lightning tribulations. Later on, it improved, and he wasn't struck by lightning so easily, because his Yin-Yang fusion had reached a very high degree. At that stage, chaotic lightning tribulations will no longer target you unless you use Yin-Yang to resurrect the dead; otherwise, it is treated as a normal Dao technique!"
He looked at the two of them. "The appearance of a chaotic lightning tribulation exposes your identities. Furthermore, a Dao doesn't always have to be used the same way. Since you both aspire to cultivate the myriad Daos, you must experiment with different Dao techniques! You don't have to be proficient in them, but you must use them. Only after using them will you gain different insights!"
Li Hao turned it over in his mind. It made sense, and he nodded in agreement.
The Dao of Time truly couldn't be used recklessly.
He had overdrawn it too much earlier.
The Sword Venerable had clearly spotted some drawbacks, or rather, he had understood where those drawbacks lay all along.
"Additionally, the three of us don't necessarily have to act together!"
The Sword Venerable said, "We might need to run decoys! For example, I strike here while you two strike elsewhere. Sometimes, someone needs to act as bait to divert attention, creating a diversion and all that! It's very dangerous... can you two handle that?"
Both nodded. Of course they could.
The Sword Venerable smiled once more.
Splendid!
After Fang Ping departed, his strength had been unmatched. When he cooperated with seventh ranks, they weren't keen on including him; when he cooperated with ordinary Sovereigns, they couldn't keep up with him. Either way, cooperating had felt deeply uncomfortable.
Now, it was quite pleasant.
Both of these lads had their unique qualities.
Teaming up with them might yield some worthwhile gains.
His objective was also clear: to rapidly step into the seventh rank. The Red Moon Domain was his opportunity.
"Then that's settled. Let's dig holes first. Enough talk—our first target... Senlan Great World!"
The Sword Venerable bared his teeth in a grin. Kongji glanced at him; Li Hao had exhibited that same toothy grin before. Indeed, folks from Xinwu all seemed to share this habit. When they smiled, it was dazzlingly brilliant... yet it also gave off an aura of hypocrisy and terror.
Rumor had it that the Xinwu Human King often did the same.
Seeing that the Sword Venerable was about to set off, Kongji couldn't help but ask, "Senior, now that we've killed Xingshen, what about the Bright God World...?"
"Don't worry about it!"
The Sword Venerable frowned upon speaking. "Ignore all that mess! That isn't your concern, nor is it mine. Whether your identity is exposed or not, it makes no difference. Leave those matters to them to handle. Is your father any less wise than you? And on Xinwu's side, Zhang Tao is there to manage things! We don't need to consider the big picture... because we aren't the rulers!
"As part of a world, you must consider the survival and future of your world at critical moments. But since there are still people in charge, as long as you don't betray your world, whatever trouble you stir up... is your own business! Red Moon isn't stupid; would they easily offend the Bright God World just over you alone?"
Then he looked at Li Hao.
Li Hao smiled. "It doesn't matter to me. Silver Moon is weak, and besides... it's already bound together with Xinwu. Red Moon won't spare us anyway, so it doesn't matter."
The Sword Venerable nodded; that was true enough.
He didn't ask Li Hao where he had hidden the Silver Moon World either; there was no need.
Since he had left Silver Moon, he no longer considered himself the King of Silver Moon.
That place... belonged to the people of Silver Moon now.
Li Hao, however, was still mindful of Hong Yitang and the others.
"Uncle Li, we still have a group of people nearby..."
"Doesn't matter!"
The Sword Venerable brushed it off. "With Tianji and King Huai around, those two cowards might lack other talents, but they certainly know how to hide! Besides, they're all Sovereigns now, not children. Are we supposed to hold their hands while they pee? Having avoided the greatest crisis, it's enough for them to try surviving in the chaos on their own. They aren't dead yet; as for the process, that's their own business."
Li Hao nodded once more.
Hearing him say this put his mind somewhat at ease. True enough—for Tianji and King Huai to have survived in Xinwu until now, they had to possess some capability.
Originally, Li Hao had racked his brains, worrying about countless things.
Yet after spending time with the Sword Venerable, he actually let go of some of his fretting.
The Sword Venerable would help refine plans; unless something truly went awry, Li Hao felt there was no need for him to overthink these matters.
Suddenly, he was struck by a thought!
Some people... didn't refuse to think because they couldn't, but because they didn't need to. The Xinwu Human King was truly fortunate—all those people helped him perfect every plan. The Human King certainly wasn't an idiot; an idiot couldn't have gotten to where he was today.
Yet the Human King rarely seemed to worry about miscellaneous trifles. He only needed to know one thing: if you are my enemy, I will kill you. If I can kill you, I kill; if I can't, I run!
There was no need to ponder other things!
From Silver Moon all the way to this point, Li Hao had schemed every step of the way, exhausting his mind at every turn, weighing consequences, pondering the future, and worrying about Silver Moon's fate.
Now, the Silver Moon World was safe inside the Great Dao Universe, Lin Hongyu and the others had regrouped with Tianji and his companion, and within their three-man group, he was the weakest. Neither of his companions was a fool, especially the Sword Venerable, who seemed exceptionally seasoned at roaming the chaos.
With such a person around, he really didn't need to worry about anything.
"Let's go!"
The Sword Venerable said no more, leading the two quickly to another location.
A crafty hare had three burrows; digging anything less than several hundred holes wouldn't satisfy his standards.
While these two lads weren't tired of it yet and could still do the labor, he had better finish the work as early as possible.
And Li Hao and Kongji were evidently more than willing.
……
At the same time.
The Red Moon World.
Looking down upon the chaos.
A colossal world stood like a crimson moon within the chaos. Around this red moon, numerous worlds were clustered at this moment—perhaps the densest concentration of worlds gathered across the surrounding domains.
Worlds large and small were scattered in all directions.
Great worlds stood to the east, south, west, and north.
The Yueming Great World, Tianlan Great World, Cangjiang Great World, and the Senlan Great World that had just lost its Dao Lord—these four great worlds were positioned on all four sides of Red Moon, effectively shielding it.
To avoid encroaching upon one another, these great worlds were spaced apart.
With Red Moon at the core, if any problem arose, Red Moon could reinforce them in time.
In the vicinity of these great worlds, there were also medium worlds and even some small worlds... Whether small or medium, moving them was exceedingly difficult. Relocating these worlds had consumed immense effort, even requiring the hiring of chaos beasts to complete the migration.
In the chaos, chaos beasts possessed the ability to accommodate worlds.
Some chaos beasts did not merely devour worlds; to avoid being hunted down, they served as hired beasts to assist certain worlds in migrating... provided the world was sufficiently formidable. If it was too weak, being devoured on the sly while no one was looking was also par for the course.
With so many worlds gathered, it was a rare opportunity.
Consequently, the vicinity of the Red Moon World was bustling with activity.
Some Sovereigns began interacting with one another.
Even those below the Sovereign realm began attempting to venture into the chaos. With so many powerhouses present, though the chaos was perilous, one could safely traverse it under their escort.
To facilitate communication, the Red Moon Great World had even used a medium world near Red Moon as a foundation to construct an exchange world, somewhat similar to the Tianfang World.
It was provided for experts from all sides to enter and interact.
Otherwise, rashly entering another faction's world was considered a provocation and a threat.
Recently, Red Moon had suffered heavy casualties, with several high-rank Sovereigns slain, causing tremors among the great worlds surrounding Red Moon. Yet for some of the small and medium worlds, word had not necessarily reached them yet.
As the exchange hub, the Sifang World—that medium world provided by Red Moon—remained lively.
Figures came and went, including both Sovereigns and non-Sovereigns.
Over the past few days, many Chaos Rangers had arrived as well.
At this moment, a group was walking through a massive city. Around them, several chaos beasts of titanic proportions could be seen.
Hong Yitang and his companions were all on high alert.
Yet the timid King Huai and Tianji were strolling about boldly, showing themselves openly and wandering in every direction.
This place was extremely close to the Red Moon World.
Yet Tianji and his companion weren't overly concerned; the more dangerous a place was, the safer it became.
Besides, they had heard that the seventh-rank Sovereign had been slain.
Even if Red Moon wanted to investigate, they wouldn't target minor figures like them, but rather the Sword Venerable and his group.
At this moment, King Huai sent a voice transmission: "Do not be impatient, everyone. We will gather some intelligence here, then find a way to slip into the Senlan Great World! Plenty of people are trying to sneak in recently; we aren't an exception!
"Our group might not be overly strong, but there are many of us... Here, even a middle-rank Sovereign wouldn't easily provoke us!"
Lin Hongyu transmitted: "I see some Red Moon cultivators around. Could that stir up trouble?"
"Not at all!"
King Huai explained via voice transmission: "What is there to fear from Red Moon cultivators? Having suffered grievous losses, they're tucking their tails between their legs right now! Moreover, without a doubt, the Lord of Red Moon is bound to set his sights on several of the great worlds to recoup his losses! Especially Senlan—he would love nothing more than for them to descend into chaos, ideally begging for aid and joining the Red Moon Great World voluntarily. Thus, Red Moon is not only not a threat, but the very key to our infiltration into Senlan!
"They would love for rogue cultivators to pour into Senlan and create chaos! When that happens, the Senlan Realm Lord will either flee with his world or have no choice but to seek aid from Red Moon, inviting the wolf into the fold... I know this routine inside and out!"
Having said this, he transmitted again: "We'll go straight to the Red Moon cultivators... I guarantee they have ways to help us smuggle ourselves into the Senlan Great World!"
Lin Hongyu's eyes flickered, and she gave a slight nod without saying more.
She wasn't foolish; in fact, she was quite shrewd.
It was just that this was her first official contact with the chaos, leaving her inexplicably tense. Although King Huai had rarely ventured out of Xinwu either, now that he was out, he carried himself like a seasoned old fox.
Furthermore, King Huai was exceedingly polite toward the Silver Moon cultivators.
For no other reason than that his gamble had paid off!
That seventh-rank Sovereign was dead, and the Sword Venerable alone couldn't have killed him. Clearly, the appearance of Li Hao and the other cultivator had turned the tide.
This proved his choice had been correct.
What he and Tianji needed to do now was ensure that these Silver Moon cultivators did not die, keeping them safe until Li Hao and the others reunited with them.
Senlan was dangerous, but Senlan was also safe.
He didn't dare set his sights on Senlan right now, but he knew that once chaos erupted, Senlan was very likely to join Red Moon.
If they established legitimate identities in Senlan, they could even take the opportunity to blend into the Red Moon World.
Moreover, for a great world like that... if the Sword Venerable hadn't left, he would likely target it as well.
When the time came, it would be convenient to reunite.
It might even make it easier to seize that great world!
"We just need to serve as an advance outpost... Don't try to pull anything rash, but once the Silver Moon King returns, perhaps we can make a move."
He called Li Hao the "Silver Moon King" at every turn, acting exceedingly modest and maintaining an attitude of reverence toward this junior.
This left the Silver Moon cultivators thoroughly pleased.
They all felt the rumors in Xinwu about this man had been exaggerated. Neither King Huai nor Tianji was anywhere near as notorious as claimed; both were exceptionally fine Xinwu Sovereigns.
Seeing this, King Huai smiled even more brightly.
The initial integration was complete. Next, as long as he fawned appropriately—ahem, acted friendly enough—he could smoothly blend into this little Silver Moon clique.
The others were easy to deal with, but that Qian Wuliang was also a Dao Lord, and that fellow didn't seem too friendly toward him!
King Huai mused silently.
Beside him, Qian Wuliang felt quite helpless.
This guy was truly a master flatterer. He was a Xinwu Sovereign after all, a senior powerhouse to the people of Silver Moon—how could he be so shameless?
In the past, he had been the one doing this work.
Now that this man had arrived, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis. If he didn't put on a performance soon... he would eventually be supplanted by this fellow. How miserable!
The group didn't linger long. After quickly inquiring about the situation, they approached a Red Moon cultivator and covertly slipped him over a thousand Great Dao crystals. Sure enough, just as King Huai had predicted, the Red Moon cultivator truly had a method to smuggle them into the Senlan Great World.
Soon, the group—along with several other rogue Sovereigns—began smuggling their way into Senlan under the Red Moon faction's arrangements.
Of course, publicly it wasn't attributed to the Red Moon World; the powerhouse behind the scenes was supposedly a mighty chaos beast.
While Li Hao and the others were frantically digging holes, this group blended into the Senlan Great World one after another.
In an instant, Sovereigns in the Senlan Great World became too numerous to count.
Originally, there had already been plenty of Sovereigns within the world. After all, it was a great world; though inferior to other seventh-rank great worlds, it had previously possessed dozens of Sovereigns. Now, within a short span of time, over a hundred Sovereigns had gathered in Senlan.
The Senlan Realm Lord felt as though his head was about to explode.
Under such circumstances, Li Hao and his companions' primary target was this very great world. Having dug numerous holes, they chose to dig their final hole in the vicinity of the Senlan Great World.
Just as Lin Hongyu and the others entered the Senlan Great World, Li Hao and his companions began digging their final base outside Senlan.
Meanwhile.
Over at the Tianfang Great World, even more Sovereigns were converging.
Even the Bright God World and Yunxiao Divine World were relocating their great worlds, seemingly intending to move them straight over. At this moment, both Tianfang and Red Moon had become the focal points of the chaos.
Chapter 471